Walgreens slated for July 3 opening

On July 3 — not this Friday, but next — the highly-anticipated Walgreens on E. Houston and Navarro streets is set to open, according to two Walgreens insiders.

Anyone who’s walked passed the drugstore this week has noticed workers filling the store’s shelves with merchandise. The makeup section, for example — immediately to the right as you walk in — is stocked and ready to go.

There is still some minor construction yet to be done.

It looks so close to completion, there’s been a cardboard sign — written in magic marker — posted on the store front that reads “NOT OPEN,” apparently in response to curious and eager passersby.

The former Walgreens closed Jan. 31, 2008, and was housed in a building that dated back to the 1880s. It was demolished along with the former Mando’s Seafood restaurant (behind it) and the Stuart building next door.

For downtown dwellers, the Walgreens’ reopening is major news, especially if this one offers more grocery-type items than its predecessor.